"This guy has turned into an animal", commented Rafael Duarte, his deep voice carrying across the stands.
And then, before him, appeared his previous nightmare.
Sanu’s defender, who had been observing until then, now stood like a rock in the center of the defense. His body firm, eyes impenetrable, a calmness that contrasted with the hurricane approaching.
Diego growled, lowering his torso, accelerating.
"Get out of the way, you piece of shit!", he shouted, spitting out his anger.
The clash was inevitable. Diego tried the first quick feint, pulling to the left. Oliveira followed. He spun sharply to the right, but the defender anticipated it, as if he had read the thought before it was executed.
Desperation grew. Diego pushed with his body, kicked with the toe, tried to improvise a quick lift. Nothing worked. Oliveira responded to everything with an almost inhuman calm. Ice against fire. And the ice prevailed.
At the perfect moment, Oliveira slid his foot underneath and took the ball cleanly. The sharp sound of the tackle echoed loudly, immediately swallowed by the deafening roar of the crowd.
"Again! He tackled him again!", shouted a fan in ecstasy.
Oliveira didn’t celebrate. He simply raised his head, released the ball to Ian, and repositioned himself, cold, as if doing nothing more than his job.
Diego stopped. His body heaving, chest burning. He punched the air, fists trembling with rage. How could it be? How could someone steal his play twice, right when he wanted to prove he was the true protagonist?
Matheus watched, a full-smile stretching across his face, eyes sharp.
"This is the defender you were talking about? Which school was he from?"
Samuel looked at Matheus, still excited.
"That’s him. Oliveira. He recently appeared on the team, no one knows where he came from. Not even we could find out which school he came from"
Rafael frowned, narrowing his eyes at the defender, who was calmly returning to his position.
"It’s impossible that a kid of this level appeared out of nowhere. A defender reading a forward of Diego’s caliber like that... twice in a row? That’s not luck. That’s extremely well-trained skill"
Matheus scratched his chin, thoughtful.
"Study... or instinct. Some players seem born knowing, but...", he sighed, "not him. He seems like he already knew what he was going to do. Of course. I’ve seen this before. It’s as if he knows every step of his opponent"
Samuka crossed his arms, a half-smile on his face.
"So... Diego isn’t just in a forward-versus-defender game, he’s in a game of who predicts whom?"
They kept discussing it, while on the smooth stadium floor, Diego was struggling to breathe. Sweat streamed in rivers, mixed with the bitter taste of blood—he had bitten his lip without realizing it, consumed by rage. When he lifted his eyes, there was Oliveira, standing in front of him. A wall. But not just that: a calmness that made him even more irritated.
The defender took a few slow steps forward. And in a firm voice, low but audible to Diego, he said:
"You know what’s funny, Diego? I’m your fan"
Diego’s eyes widened, confused, rage mixing with disbelief.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Oliveira kept his face serious, but there was a cold gleam in his eyes. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩
"I watched every game of yours. I studied every dribble, every sprint, every way you react when you lose the ball. I know when you’ll fake one way and cut the other. I even know when you release the ball first just to disguise it. I know everything about you"
He took a deep breath, the tone lower, almost a whisper cutting like a blade:
"And that’s why, no matter what you do... I will always tackle you"
Diego shuddered. For a moment, the world seemed to vanish around him. Only he and Oliveira existed in that space. His heart pounded like a war drum, but the defender’s eyes did not waver. It was like looking into a mirror reflecting not the body, but the exposed soul.
The forward growled, spitting words like venom:
"Shut up. Shut up! You’re just a kitten trying to scare a lion. You piece of shit, I’ll kill you, you piece of shit!"
Oliveira didn’t respond. He just turned, returning to his position, as if certain of the outcome.
Meanwhile, Sanu’s players were in shock. Luquinhas was the first to break the silence:
"This guy tackled Diego for the second time?"
Rodrigo, still recovering from the collision with Diego minutes before, wiped the sweat from his face and looked at the court in disbelief.
"I’ve never seen anything "
Ian, holding the ball in midfield, glanced back for a second, observing Oliveira regain his stance. He smiled slightly.
"Oliveira... where did you even come from?"
Even Kelvin, owner of the applause until now, stayed quiet. The cheers for him had turned into murmurs of surprise for another player. For the first time, the spotlight seemed divided.
And in the corners of the stands, Matheus and Rafael exchanged a look.
"This kid...", Rafael began, "If he keeps this up, he could be the most dominant defender this school has ever seen"
Matheus nodded firmly.
"No... not just this school, Rafael. This country"
The entire gym seemed to understand: the duel was no longer just offense versus defense. It was psychological.